"The government decided to discharge ... from the armed forces 89 commissioned and 299 non-commissioned officers," Ramirez said, adding that it was part of a process of "self-criticism" by the military.

The purge, unprecedented in this war-torn Andean nation's history, was possible only after President Andres Pastrana issued a decree last month allowing military commanders to remove officers who fail to meet service requirements or who face human-rights or corruption charges.

Local and international rights groups say the Colombian forces have one of the region's worst human-rights records despite recent efforts to improve their image.